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Position Letter by Monica Swift

September 2011

Dear Parent/Guardian:

This letter is to inform you of your student’s upcoming Junior Research Brief writing assignment (the students' first major writing assignment, tenatively scheduled for development during the end of the first quarter). The creation of the research brief will take one week of class time and include in-class instruction and writing time. The purpose of this assignment is not only to prepare your student for his or her Junior Project (and subsequently his or her Senior Project), but to also teach basic research skills.

The desired outcome of this assignment is to arm your student with research skills, writing skills, and deductive reasoning skills. By honing each student’s communication skills (via the writing process),the Language Arts Department is striving to better prepare your student for the“real” world. As we are aware, it is a world where people are forced to communicate through the written word, whether it be when filing an accident report or filing an insurance claim. Thank you for the support you give your student as he or she pursues his or her academic endeavors. Feel free to access the document section of this Fusion Page for copies of the hand-outs and the guides for this project.

Sincerely,

Monica L. Swift Derby High School Language Arts



Position Paper By Michele Guiol

My students often ask me about the necessity of learning language arts and writing skills. They moan and groan that reading literature, practicing grammar, and writing papers is a waste of time. After all, they ask, “how are these skills going to help me in my career choice?”

As a language arts teacher, it is my job to ensure that students understand the value and importance of writing, no matter what career path they choose. Students are so immersed in the electronic world of Ipods, facebook, cell phones, computers, and video games that they don’t see the value of learning writing and communication skills. They see no need for communication in a written form, as they are comfortable reducing language to texting, facebook blogging, and on-line game playing. Through my classes, and with writing lessons in particular, I hope to expose students to real-world situations where they see the value of English and writing skills.

The world of reading and writing opens up entirely new worlds for students to explore. Every grain of knowledge is important, whether students feel they will use it directly or not. The brain is a fascinating receptacle into which tidbits of knowledge can be filed away in the cabinets of the mind. No knowledge is wasted knowledge. That’s what I try to relay to my students.

Reading, writing, grammar, and communication skills are used in everything from filling in an employment application to getting the attention of the opposite sex. When these real-world applications are made, the students tend to have an “ah-ha” moment. And those “ah-ha” moments are what I strive for as a teacher of English.